haha thanks. I just clicked the story cause I was like 'lets see the type of up-res job they did from 3DS to WiiU', and then I saw something I had yet to see on this site: 'Add the first comment'. My eyes went wide. It was a very tense moment.

@xseedx said:

But nothin about the controller usage....

The gamepad will show the same stuff that the bottom screen showed on the 3DS. You do all realize this is a port of a 3DS game, coming to both platforms in NA, right?

The cg at the end is kinda what most people would expect a next gen game to look like and when it cuts back to the ingame footage its almost as if you're looking at any other wii game. I think the problem ninty is gonna have when trying to sell this console is that, yes, neat ideas and concepts can sell, but I don't think putting a screen on a controller, at the cost they're asking, is innovative or interesting enough for people to take a punt at. The wii managed to pull off a coup de grace because of its low price point and it's simplicity. Theyve fucked with their target market that the wii managed to pull in, and theyve fucked with their potential new market of core gamers by providing an underpowered console that seems more like an enlarged overpowered ds for the living room. Much like with the ds, I reckon that second screen will do little to enhance the value of many games. Not to say there won't be some cool shit done with it, and not to say the wii u won't sell, but from all angles I think Nintendo have an incredibly insular mindset about how they view the gaming industry that causes them to be on the backfoot as other companies innovate ahead of them. Motion control and dual screens were cool 6 years ago, but where are the new ideas, the new gaming franchises? How long can they rest on legacy before someone grabs their balls and says hey, fuck mario and zelda, let's do something new? Oh yeah monster hunter, yup, still looks like monster hunter.

Theyve fucked with their target market that the wii managed to pull in,

More importantly, that market is pretty much tapped anyway. Casual gamers who bought a Wii, and who only own a Wii, largely got all they wanted out of it, and aren't the type of person whose technological demands would ever necessitate buying a new console. They wanted the Wii to be a gateway, but ultimately, for large swaths of the people who bought it, it was a temporary diversion that didn't lead to any new long-term customers.

Nintendo seemingly locking up the Monster Hunter franchise is the only reason I am considering buying the Wii U. I will probably go all-in and also pick up the 3DS version as well, both as a personal convenience to myself and also as an (most likely futile) attempt to get some friends into the series.

@patrickklepek: The biggest hurdle to getting into MH is learning how the weapons work. Each has very specific play-styles and attacks which are often completely inscrutable without external tutorials.

I recommend watching some of these very nice tutorial videos whose essential lessons will carry over from Tri to Tri-G:

This advice goes to anyone interested in MH. Knowing how the obscure mechanics work will make or break your experience and the games usually completely fail to teach them to you! That guy's profile also explains how the armor and skill systems work, which are also fairly complicated.

Edit: Those videos assume you've played through the in-game tutorial and are familiar with the basic mechanics (moving, menus) and mission structure. If you don't have the game running in front of you to play along with, don't try to figure it out by just watching.

@SagaciousJones: When I saw Patrick was gonna try this I hit reply to link him to Social's tutorials, only to see you had beat me to it.

I have to disagree with you on what's the biggest hurdle for new players, I'd say that it's not knowing that you can dodge-cancel out of attack animations. When I learned how to do that I went from getting wrecked by EVERYTHING, to actually being able to play the game.

Yeah, it's a bummer they're still sticking to these art assets but from what I understand it's not going to be a full priced game. That's something, at least. I mean I don't care either way since I love Monster Hunter, but yeah.